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User blog:Ink.fall.ing/Book Timeline
As a timeline, the following section details each year a particular book or short story takes place. Although no in-book dates are given, map illustrations will often be labeled "643 CE." Since was the first book published, I’ve arbitrarily decided that’s this is when it takes place; all dates given are based off of this assumption. The purpose of this is to allow for easy calculations of ages and dates, and not to detail every single event that takes place in-universe. If you've been linked here from an infobox, these are the numbers used to calculate the date in question. As a side note, most of this information was taken from my own post on tumblr. Obviously, things will be updated as new information comes out. It should be noted that Flanagan has made numerous inconsistent claims about the timeline. For instance, Flanagan claims that takes place eighteen months before . clearly states that the Herons competed against Rollond two years previously, and takes place immediately after . This would mean that ends in very early spring of 653 and takes place in summer of 653. However, in , Duncan claims that the events of took place the previous year. Essentially, Horace and Cassandra supposedly got married before they were even engaged. I can't even say that Flanagan was just wrong in his interview and move back one year, because otherwise the Herons would be leaving Skandia to chase Zavak at the same time Gundar is supposedly on duty in Araluen with his ship--which uses the Heron sail plan. All this is to say that Flanagan was seriously on something when making this timeline. In instances where he provides contradictory information, I'll do my best to make some sense of it. 627 C.E. Spring * : Takes place immediately before . It says as much in the foreword. * : Takes place the year before . Takes place during spring; the tournament is said to take place during the first week of “fourthmonth” (April). 628 C.E. Spring - Autumn * : Explicitly stated in that it had been fifteen years since Morgarath had been banished to the mountains, meaning the end of is 15 years before . Takes place the year after – “The previous year had been a grim time” (pg 10). Begins during spring, “but now it was spring” (pg 18). We know the book ends in fall, as this must take place at least eight months after the beginning of the book (Rosalind is announced as pregnant immediately, and Cassandra is born one month early), and winter does not pass. Autumn * : Takes place immediately before the epilogue of . Pretty obvious if you’ve read it. 643 C.E. Summer - Winter * : Starts in July–at harvest day Will states he had been training for three months. Although it was difficult to find harvest times in the UK, October cropped up a lot. For the sake of simplicity, I’m saying Harvest day takes place in october. The boar hunt takes place during winter, before the new year. 644 C.E. Winter - Spring * : When Horace fights Jerome, it specifically mentions wet (aka melting) snow. As at least one month has passed since the boar incident, it may now be late winter. And as Will had stated that the Gathering would be in “one month,” and Horace only gets around to attempting to talk to the Rangers “weeks later,” we can assume a month has passed since fighting the bullies. This timeline is reaffirmed when they meet Gilan–leaves and grass are mentioned, both of which should be dead during winter, but would have grown back a month into spring. Although there isn’t a clear timeline for how long they’re in the plains, it wouldn’t make sense for it to be more than a few days, as it only takes one day to ride to Castle Redmont, and one day to ride back. If you look at the map of Araluen, the plains is about as wide as the distance between the plains and Redmont. Thus, it ends in spring as well. Spring * : All the discussions around Morgarath refers to the last war being sixteen years ago, compared to the fifteen years stated in the first book. In chapter three, it calls the rains a “cold spring rain.” This means the story picks up not too far from the last book. Summer - Winter * : Halt is banished early in , stating that Will’s trail is “still warm,” implying that little time has passed since the end of . As per Duncan’s decree, he is banished for one year. The Wolfwind was said to be fighting the storm for one week, and Will explicitly states the storm is a part of the summer gales. So picked up in summer. We also know that ends in winter. When Halt and Horace leave Gallica, it states that “the worst of winter was already over,” meaning that it’s still mid-winter. * : Flanagan explicitly states in the foreword that this is what Gilan was doing while Halt was banished, meaning it occurs simultaneously as . 645 C.E. Spring - Summer * : Opens on the very beginning of spring. The first chapter starts with Will realizing the thaw was beginning. And since we know that Halt was banished for a year, starting in summer, and returns only a month early, this means that ends in summer, too. 647 C.E. Summer * : Will is finishing his Ranger training, which has spanned five years. However, Halt says that he’s in his final year of training, meaning he hasn’t reached five years yet. Rather, he’s in the final stretch of his fourth year and will he get his silver oakleaf in a few months. Halt refers to their new cloaks as "summer issue", indicating it takes place during summer 649 C.E. Autumn - Winter * : Will is reminded of Redmont and “in the last six years, of the deep affection that had grown between him and Halt.” When talking with Gundar, he points out the autumn gales will start soon, placing this event around the beginning or mid September, as a quick search pointed to the end of September being the usual time for autumnal storms. A week passes until Alyss arrives in Seacliff, and another until Will arrives in the Gathering Grounds. By time he makes it to Norgate, it’s already winter. 650 C.E. Winter - Spring * : We don’t really know when the new year begins (it might’ve happened during ), but we do know that once the group leaves Norgate, it’s right at the end of winter. Some time passes, Will returns to Seacliff, and then receives Alyss’ letter, so the book ends in spring. 651 C.E. Spring * : Points out that the siege of the Scotti happened a year before while Will is assessing the first years, and that Will thought he had proven himself over the past two years to justify a reassignment, last year at Norgate and the present year at Seacliff. Will starts off at the annual Ranger Gathering. Halt said in that the gathering was an important event in a Ranger’s calendar, implying this to take place on the same day every year. Thus, we know it’s spring, and this matches with weather descriptions. Spring - Autumn * : In a 2012 interview, John Flanagan stated that takes place about 18 months before . Thus, we know that begins during spring of 651. As Brotherband training only lasts three months, and starts upon summer, the book ends on the very beginning of autumn, since The Herons had just won the final competition. Summer - Autumn * : The books states early on that it begins in late summer. Thus, the book ends in early to mid fall. Autumn - Winter * : Picks up from where the last brotherband book left off, and ends in winter. It’s possible that it actually runs over into 652, but for the sake of simplicity, I’ve confined it to 651. 652 C.E. Spring * : Once again picks up from where the last book in the series left off. As it is no longer winter, we can assume it is now spring and thus a new year has begun. Autumn - Winter * : We know that Horace’s timeline starts in autumn; they say as much in his first chapter: "autumn is upon us". And we also know that he was in Nihon-Ja during the summer, as he was staying in Shigeru’s summer palace. As the events of and are referred to as "recent," I think takes place the year after . Then he travels to Nihon-Ja, stays until autumn, and the plot starts. This is the most recent we can get the events of and to be. 653 C.E. Winter - Spring * : When leaving for Araluen, it's stated that Gundar "had spent a relatively comfortable winter on the offshore island." This seems to indicate that winter is over, and it has moved into very early spring. Spring * : Will sees a doe and her fawn, placing this story in either spring or summer. Given that and are supposed to take place later in the year, and are also described as having nice weather, it's likely that takes place in early spring and takes place in late spring or early summer. * : may take place the same time as , as Gilan comes to Redmont to replace Will and Halt. They send a message to him before they leave from Hambley, so that he can take over for them. Additionally, Gilan and Alyss talk about prepping for the Royal wedding, meaning it takes place around the same time as . Spring/Summer * : Obviously, takes place during and before the Royal Wedding. We don’t really get any indication of a time of year, just that the weather is nice. So it’s likely either late spring or early summer. * : We know this takes place post , as Will mentions having seen Alyss’ skill with disguise before, and before , as they aren't married yet. We aren’t really given more than that, but it’s probably either spring or summer, given that the redberry bushes are plentiful. Summer * : Horace mentions that he and Cassandra have been married for nineteen years in . Given that Flanagan has confirmed that takes place sixteen years after , that means has to take place during 653, or else Horace and Cassandra would be married for twenty years, not nineteen. It's explicitly said to be a summer evening. Cassandra is stated to be pregnant, meaning her and Horace are already married. I can’t imagine that Will and Alyss would wait that long after Horace’s and Cassandra’s wedding to get married, and I doubt Horace and Cassandra would wait that long to try for a child, so I’m guessing that takes place in late summer. 654 C.E. Summer * : Lydia notes that the Herons’ brotherband training was completed two years ago. However, this assertion completely breaks the timeline (see the third paragraph in the intro for an explanation). As such, we can only assume that she's just flat out wrong in this assertion. In , which takes place weeks later, Duncan says that the events of took place the previous year, meaning this must take place in 654. While hunting, she notes "even though it was summer, the nights were cold in the mountains." By the time the rescue mission has concluded, only a few weeks have passed, meaning it ends in summer as well. * : Once again, this book picks up directly after the last, placing it at 654 as well. 655 C.E. Summer * : The Herons were stationed at Araluen for one year in , meaning their return to Skandia in the epilogue occurs during the summer. 656 C.E. Winter - Spring * : There are very few references to past events in this book. However, we know that it begins very early in the year (Hal states that it is still winter, but there are no references to cold or snow, indicating late winter moving into spring). Thorn also references Zavac’s defeat, stating that it was “a couple of years ago” (pg 216). Unfortunately, fixing the timeline breaking references in means that this is the most recent we can get to be. 657 C.E. Spring - Summer * : When confronting Olaf, Hal mentions that the events of took place "last year" (pg 187), placing this story at 655. It’s later mentioned that Mygros has just started his summer cruise, indicating that the story begins in spring. 658 C.E. Summer * : Will says he’s had Tug for fifteen years, placing this story at 658. Nice weather again, and the wolf has supposedly been feasting on small game. I’d say it’s probably summer again. 669 C.E. Summer - Autumn * : In a 2013 interview, Flanagan stated takes place sixteen years after . Starts in summer, as the first chapter states that there is one more harvest left in the year. There are three harvests in a year, spring, summer, and fall. So, the book starts in summer, with the fall harvest upcoming. 670 C.E. Spring * : The book ends on the Ranger Gathering as Madelyn completes her first year of training; thus, spring of the next year. 671 C.E. Spring * : Madelyn notes that she’s nearly at the end of her second year of training, meaning it’s been one year since the end of . 672 C.E. Spring * : Madelyn completes her third year assessment, meaning it’s been two years since the end of . * : Takes place directly after . Will states that she'd been away for a few weeks, implying she was only gone for about a month, and as such, ends in spring as well. Category:Blog posts